Out the Corner of My Eye
by u2fan2005
Summary: After the collapse of Sunnydale Buffy and her friends are helping to start the new Watchers Council. One day Buffy receives a small package and to her surprise, inside was the amulet. SPUFFY.
1. The Gift

**Out the Corner of My Eye**

**_Summary: After the collapse of Sunnydale Buffy and her friends are helping to start the new Watchers Council. Things are finally seem to be getting normal until one day Buffy receives a small package with no return address that has the amulet inside. _**

**Chapter 1: The Gift **

September 2003….

London, England…

It was late at night when the elevator dinged on the fifth floor of the apartment building. The two sliding doors opened and revealed Buffy balancing a laundry basket on her hip. She let out a little sigh, 'Finally…this elevator is the slowest thing in the world' she thought to herself.

She stepped into the hallway and noticed it seemed too quiet for a large apartment building full of people. Usually Buffy was passing neighbors on her floor every second of every hour. She wasn't use to having the long hallway all to herself.

The sight of the hall looking so empty brought chills down Buffy's arm, and she was sort of waiting for the two little twin girls from _The Shining_ to show up any moment. Buffy shook her head and laughed, 'I've got to stop doing this…just act cool...you're not on the Hellmouth anymore. Remember?' she thought to herself.

Buffy started walking down the long hallway, humming to herself as she passed apartment doors.

When Buffy finally got to her apartment number '59', she set her laundry basket to the ground and quickly reached into her pockets to retrieve her keys.

Down the hallway the elevator dinged and the doors slid open again. Buffy stopped in motion and looked down the hall toward the elevator to see who got off or if someone was getting on, but she saw no one. The suspense of the situation made Buffy's chest rise up and down rapidly, making her eyes become fixated on the elevator.

Buffy's apartment door flew open and made her jump back a little.

"Dawn…" Buffy breathed out in relief when she saw it was only her sister behind the door.

"Hey…what took you so long? Machine broken in the basement?" Dawn asked but when she saw Buffy's startled look she got a little worried, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing just…" Buffy looked back down the hallway and caught a glimpse of the elevator closing shut, not knowing if someone got in or got off.

Dawn stuck her head out the door and looked in the direction Buffy's gazed was directed but saw nothing but an empty hallway, "Something wrong?"

"No…" Buffy said in a daze as she continued to look down the hallway. After a pause she shook her head and picked up her laundry and entered the apartment. Dawn checked down the hall once more before shutting the door.

"Someone following you?" Dawn asked Buffy once they both were in their living room.

"No…" Buffy mumbled as she began sorting her clothes and folding them. "It just me…I'm probably going crazy."

"I think you're tense. This place is not the Hellmouth, not every corner in London has a monster lurking in the shadows." Dawn concluded.

"I know…" Buffy said, "It's just…I don't know…lately I have been getting jumpy. Feeling like something or someone is watching me…" Buffy stopped folding and looked at Dawn to see her sisters face expression had changed to serious.

"Creepy…" Dawn mumbled and thought about it for a moment and came to a solution, "Maybe you should tell Giles…or maybe Willow can do a spell, you know, see if there is someone or something there."

Buffy shook her head at the idea as she went back to folding her clothes, "No…Giles is busy working on the Council and Willow is still on that spiritual guide quest with Kennedy. I don't think they will be back for at least another month, and besides, I don't want Willow worrying."

"Well you know Willow, worries no matter what." Dawn got up and started to her room but turned around quickly, "Also…you got mail on the table." Then she turned and kept walking to her room.

Buffy set a shirt she had in her hands down in the laundry basket and walked over to the table to see a couple of bills, magazines, and a small package. Buffy instant reaction to the package was confusion as she looked at it, 'Who would send me something this small and more importantly, know where I'm living?'

"Dawn?" Buffy called out as she picked up the small package.

"Yeah!" Dawn yelled out from behind her door in her room.

"What's this package?" Buffy called out without taking her eyes off the small box.

Dawn opened her door and peeked out; she was wearing headphones in her ears so she couldn't really hear Buffy's question. She placed the headphones around her neck and asked, "What'd you say?"

Buffy turned to Dawn holding the package in hand, "What's this?"

Dawn shrugged, "Not sure…just something that came in the mail." Dawn said honestly.

Buffy looked back at the package, "It has no return address on it…" Buffy looked back up at Dawn.

"Maybe whoever sent it forgot to put one on…maybe it's from Angel, you know how he loves to be mysterious and…weird." Dawn said.

"He doesn't know I live here…" the words tumbled out of Buffy's mouth.

Dawn started to smirk like a cat, "Ohhhhh….that's interesting..."

"No it's not, it's just…" Buffy stopped in mid sentence, "You know what…that is none of your concern….so…about the box…."

"I don't know Buffy…just open it and see." Dawn said as she put her headset back on and went back into her room.

Once Dawn shut her door Buffy looked back at the tiny little package and examined it more, looking for clues. She examined the fold of the brown paper around the box and the spelling of her name on address label. 'Doesn't look like Willow, Xander, or Giles writing…' she noted to herself. Buffy also noted that it wasn't addressed to anyone else, not to 'Buffy and Dawn Summers', only to herself.

Buffy knew that Giles would probably not want her to open it without consulting him first but Buffy felt like she was being drawn to open it herself, like what was inside was for her and her only.

"Hell with it…" Buffy mumbled and slowly tore off the wrapping and found a little white box with a lid. Buffy took a deep breath and opened the lid and gasped at the gift inside. It was the amulet. The amulet Angel gave to her and she gave to Spike.

"Oh my god…" was all she managed say.


	2. The Wicked Game

**Chapter 2: The Wicked Game **

It's funny how your life can change in a single second from a piece a mail. Buffy thought the small box would enclose something like a sample of soap or perfume; she never expected to be haunting by a bit of her past.

Part of Buffy felt an overwhelming sadness of what the amulet represent, losing someone she loved. And yet, another part of Buffy felt sick to her stomach with fear. She was scared because of the mystery of how the amulet came to be given back to her.

It took a few minutes before Buffy could even take her eyes off the shiny piece of jewelry that lay sparkling in the box. When Buffy looked up and around at her apartment she started to feel that she was being watched again. The air in the apartment seemed unsettling too, like a cool breeze came through an opened window.

Buffy's eyes went back to the amulet sitting in the box. She lifted her hand slowly and touched the glassy part slightly. When she came in contact with the amulet Buffy felt a shock run up her finger tips that made her hand pull away and drop the amulet onto the ground.

Buffy gasped when she saw the amulet come in contact with her carpet. She waited for something to happen, like a magically Jeannie to appear or the amulet to start to smoke, but nothing happened.

Buffy bent down and picked the amulet up and this time it felt normal.

"Buffy?" Dawn's voice came from her bedroom.

Buffy stuffed the amulet into the desk draw nearby when Dawn started to walk out of her room.

"Yeah?" Buffy asked, trying to sound casual.

"So what was in the package?" Dawn asked.

"Oh…nothing just …just a commercial soap sample." Buffy waved the subject off.

"Oh…well...see! You were all jumpy for nothing." Dawn smiled.

"Yeah…" Buffy looked away and towards the ground. Buffy knew her sister sometimes has the magical ability of seeing right though her lies so Buffy didn't risk looking Dawn in the eye.

"Well now that the drama is all over, lets eat!" Dawn grinned and started to put her shoes on.

"Uh…I don't know." Buffy said, "I'm kind of tired."

"Its five o'clock in the afternoon." Dawn gave Buffy a strange look.

"Yeah well…laundry makes me sleepy I guess." Buffy gave an innocence shrug and smile.

"You're acting stranger than usual." Dawn mumbled and stared at Buffy.

"Dawn, I'm fine…really." Buffy said, "Why don't you go out with that girl next door that you seem to hanging out with so much….what's her name?

"Lisa…" Dawn answered.

"Yeah, Lisa…what don't you two go out to eat?" Buffy suggested."You're trying to send me out of the house by myself and into the city?" Dawn sounded shocked, "Wow you must be really out of it…." Dawn grabbed her coat and headed towards the door, "Better take advantage of the situation before you change your mind. Bye." Dawn mumbled as she left.

"Bye." Buffy mumbled and turned around towards the draw she had the amulet hidden in. Buffy opened the draw and looked at the amulet sitting perfectly still the way she left it. She couldn't believe it was no doing anything, the last time she saw this thing it was creating a hole in the earth were Sunnydale once stood.

Buffy picked it up and headed towards the phone and started to dial. While she waited for someone to answer she kept examining the amulet in her hand.

"Hello?" a voice came on the other end.

"Hello? Giles…it's me, look I need you to come over here quick…" Buffy said.

* * *

A soft knock came from outside Buffy's door. She answered it and saw Giles standing in the hallway. 

"Thanks for coming." Buffy stepped away and let Giles enter.

"Well…thanks for informing me about this." Giles said as he came in.

"Why wouldn't I tell you?" Buffy asked him, thinking his question was stupid. She always knew strange stuff equals 'Call Giles'.

"I don't know…things like this I thought you would like to keep to yourself…being private and all…" Giles explained. He was beating around the bush, not wanting to mention a certain blonde vampire.

"True…" Buffy said and looked down in her hand at the amulet she held. Giles followed her gaze and then saw for the first time the amulet.

'So it's true…' he thought to himself. He kept staring down at the amulet and his hand started to come up as if he was going to snatch it out of her hand, but he asked first if he may hold it. "May I?"

Buffy looked up at Giles and then handed the amulet carefully over to him.

"I really didn't know what to do…it scared me a little to see that…that thing." Buffy said while Giles kept his eyes locked on the amulet. He kept turning it around in his hand, looking at all angles of the shiny amulet.

Giles looked up at Buffy; "I'm wondering how anyone could find this or want to go find it…" he looked back down at the amulet.

"Yeah, I know." Buffy nodded in agreement and looked at the amulet and crossed her arms across her stomach. "Plus, how would they know…you know, about me and the ties to that thing and being in the past apocalypse."

"Good question…" Giles nodded, "I'm surprised they didn't send this to Angel instead of you...I mean, he was the one who gave it to you."

"Yeah I know…that's another puzzle." Buffy sighed.

Giles took off his glasses and started to walk around Buffy's apartment. While watching Giles pace Buffy noted that he looked tired, probably from the work with establishing the new council.

"Look, I know you're busy with the council and finding slayers, I'll understand if you—" Buffy started but Giles cut in.

"No…no…I want to help." Giles stopped walking and turned to Buffy, "But the problem is, I don't know how to." Giles walked up to Buffy and handed the amulet back over to her.

"We'll go into research mode tomorrow then?" Buffy asked.

"Yes…I guess we can do that…maybe we can have Dawn and Andrew—" Giles started but Buffy cut in.

"No." Buffy firmly said, "I...can-can we just keep this between us for now?"

Giles stared at Buffy for a moment, wondering why she wanted to keep this a secret. However he didn't ask why and just nodded, "Sure…"

"Thanks…" Buffy said softly.

Giles moved to the door in to leave.

"How is Andrew?" Buffy changed the subject, breaking the tension that she felt.

Giles turned to her and rolled his eyes, "He's on my bloody nerves."

Buffy laughed, "Serves you right for telling him he can be train to be a Watcher."

"Yes…well I guess I was drunk at the time I said that." Giles mumbled and started out the door, "Goodnight."

"Night." Buffy said and closed the door.

* * *

Later that night Buffy placed the amulet in her jewelry box for safe keeping. Around two in the morning, while Dawn was asleep and the apartment was all quiet, Buffy started tossing and turning; she couldn't relax. Memories kept passing without out stop in her mind. 

'_I can feel it, Buffy…my soul…it's really there…'_ Spike's words played in her mind.

Then, out of no where, another unsettling breeze came by. It passed Buffy's face in her bed. The feeling made Buffy sit up straight in bed.

"Who's there?" She asked as she sat up. Buffy looked around the room and found nothing but darkness.

But in fact there was something there. The leathered duster and bleached hair Spike stood at the foot of her bed, unrecognized by Buffy's point of view.

"It's just me luv." Spike said answering her question.

After a moments pause of looking around and not seeing Spike right in front of her Buffy laid back down slowly, still fully alert if there was something going to pop out.

Spike sighed, "….but you can't see me."

Spikes was frustrated at the Powers That Be wicked game they were playing on him, he could see and hear Buffy but Buffy couldn't neither see nor hear him.

'Afterlife's a bitch' he thought to himself.

**TBC...**


	3. Sensations

**Chapter 3: Sensations **

The next morning Buffy got up out of her bed, took a shower, and went back to her room to make her bed. As she straightened the comforter on top of her bed she had that "feeling" again. She paused and let her slayer sense kick in to find out what was really going on. Buffy senses a pair of eyes were watching her from the corner of her room near her closet. However when she turned around and looked over in the direction of closet she saw nothing.

"Buffy!" Dawn's voice echoed the apartment.

"Yeah!" Buffy called out, eyes still focused in the corner of the room.

"Where's my green shirt?" Dawn called back.

"Just a minute." Buffy said as she still looked around her room. She began to walk over towards her closet slowly and cautiously. She grabbed the door handle of her closet and quickly opened it. Buffy let out a sigh as she saw only her clothes and shoes.

"Buffy!" Dawn called out again impatiently.

"Coming!" Buffy said and shut her closet and started walking into the hallway.

As Buffy walked out her room and into the hallway, the ghostly figure of Spike walked a few paces behind her. His hands were buried deep in his leather jacket.

Buffy stopped half way down the hallway and turned around to come face to face with Spike. She blinked a few times and looked around.

"I'm here luv…come on you know I'm here, otherwise you wouldn't be turning around…" Spike talked to her face. However his words were useless. Spike reached his hand out to touch her face but before he got there Buffy turned around and continued to walk down the hall and into Dawn's room.

"What did you want?" Buffy asked when she reached Dawn's doorway.

"Nothing, forget it…I decided to go with the pink shirt." Dawn said as she checked herself out in her mirror. When Dawn faced Buffy she noticed Buffy's tired eyes and low glum expression. "What's with you?"

"Huh?" Buffy asked in a daze.

"You look tired." Dawn laughed.

"Probably because I am…I had trouble sleeping…" Buffy told Dawn with a yawn.

"Huh…think its jet leg?" Dawn asked.

"How could that be it…I mean we lived here for a while." Buffy laughed.

"True…" Dawn said, "Well I'm going to school so you have the whole apartment to yourself so you can go back to bed."

"Seems tempting, but I was going to go to Giles today…" Buffy said.

"Oh…what for?"

Buffy shrugged, "Oh you know…just a visit." She lied.

"Oh…well tell him 'hey' and tell Andrew to get a life." Dawn came forward and kissed Buffy's cheek, "Bye…" she left her room and went towards the front door.

When Buffy heard the door slam shut she let out a sigh, "Alone again…" she mumbled in the quiet apartment.

"Not quit." Spike said who stood right next to her.

* * *

Buffy knocked on Giles's apartment door and then a few minutes later Andrew answered it. 

"Buffy! I didn't know you were coming over!" Andrew said with a geeky smile.

"Yeah well I didn't know you slept in that." Buffy looked down at Andrew's clothes.

Andrew looked down at his Star Wars t-shirt that had Andrew's head pasted over Luke Skywalker's body. He laughed nervously and looked back up at Buffy, "Oh…I got this done on the internet."

"I wouldn't have guessed." Buffy said sarcastically and walked past Andrew and into the apartment.

"Where's Giles?" Buffy looked around the living room and found a few books scattered about.

"He went to check out that office that was for rent…" Andrew said.

Behind Andrew, Spike walked right through the wall and into the apartment.

"Oh right…" Buffy nodded and looked disappointed.

"He should be back soon." Andrew said.

Spike walked around Andrew and glanced at his shirt and snickered. He walked farther into the apartment and stood closer to Buffy.

"Yeah I guess…" Buffy said and crossed her arms and shuttered.

"Are you alright?" Andrew noticed Buffy's shutter.

"I just keep getting these weird feelings…do you feel that?" Buffy glanced around the room and right a Spike.

Spike took a deep breath when she looked directly at him and sort of into his eyes.

'Come on, see me.' He kept thinking.

Andrew paused and tried to sense something but he didn't, "Nope…"

"I thought I was only feeling it in my apartment but…" Buffy drifted out.

"Well maybe it's a slayer thing…or you know…your adjusting…or indigestion." Andrew said.

Buffy gave him a weird look, "You know sometimes you should not talk."

"That's what Mr. Giles says too." Andrew said.

Giles then walked into the apartment.

"Buffy…I thought you'd stop by later…" Giles said.

"Well I wanted to…" Buffy stopped and looked at Andrew, "Andrew, this is kind of private."

"Oh…well…umm…sure." Andrew said and went into the kitchen.

"You can still hear us in there." Buffy yelled to Andrew.

Andrew immerged from the kitchen and laughed nervously, "Right…" Spike, Giles, and Buffy watched him go into the bedroom and shut the door.

"You have no idea how much I want him gone. I rather have Spike chain in my bathtub again." Giles mumbled.

Spike raised an eyebrow at that and smirked at that comment.

"Speaking of…" Buffy said.

Giles looked up at Buffy and noticed she was anxious to know the news about the amulet. "Oh…right…well I looked through every book and I couldn't find anything…there seems to be no text on the amulet…and who or whatever mailed it went through a lot of trouble for you to get it." Giles said.

"Yeah…" Buffy looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry Buffy." Giles whispered.

"…their…theirs something else too…" Buffy said and looked back up at him, "I've been getting these weird feelings…like…like right now even…I feel like something is here."

Giles tilted his head and looked at her with interest, "And this has been happening since the amulet?"

"Pretty much…" Buffy asked.

"Is it unsettling?"

"I…not really…I just feel like someone's looking at me from the corner or…" Buffy sighed, "Do you sense it?"

Giles looked around his apartment. At one time he looked at Spike for a moment.

"Come on Rups…" Spike mumbled up his breath, hoping that Giles would see him too.

"Sorry Buffy…" Giles said.

* * *

Buffy walked on the sidewalks of London in deep thought. She zoomed in and out of crowds subconsciously. Beside her Spike walked. He was having trouble trying to avoid walking through people's bodies but sometimes he had to. 

"Buffy, god will you slow down…" he said, even though he knew she couldn't hear his request.

She stopped at a street corner and looked both ways before crossing the street. She lowered her head as she continued to walk.

Down the road a man in his car dropped his cell phone and while trying to recover it he didn't see the stop light…or Buffy.

Spike looked up and saw the fast car coming and then looked at Buffy, who was about to walk into his path.

"BUFFY!" He yelled and ran up from behind her and knocked her out of the way and to the other side of the sidewalk.

The man in the car looked up and screeched his brakes of his car.

Buffy was on the ground on the sidewalk. She was already, no injures, and she got up to her feet. She looked around the area to see who pushed her but found no one. A few people that witnessed what happened started going up to Buffy and asked if she was alright. Buffy didn't answer, she just kept looking around to see who pushed her out the cars way and saved her life.

The guy in the car got out of his and approached Buffy.

"I'm so sorry miss…" the Englishman said, "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

"No…I'm fine." Buffy mumbled in a daze and continued to look around.

Spike stood a few feet away from her and was panting hard. He was deathly afraid a moment ago but at the same time he was amazed. 'I touched her…' he thought to himself.

**TBC……**


	4. A Helping Hand

**Chapter 4: A Helping Hand**

Buffy and Dawn sat on their living room couch talking about Buffy's near death experience on the streets of London. Spike was pacing in front of them and responding to their conversation even though technically he couldn't.

"So two hands pushed you away?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah…it was weird…" Buffy said and looked straight in front of her in deep though, like she was trying to solve what caused her magical rescue. Ironically Spike was in the same very spot she was looking at.

"You can say that again luv…" Spike mumbled, responding to Buffy's comment.

"Are you sure their was no one behind you when you were walking across…I mean you didn't notice that car coming at you, so maybe you didn't notice—" Dawn reasoned but stopped when she got a glare from Buffy.

"There was no one there!" Buffy exclaimed, "I know I felt two hands on my back and then fiercely push me away."

"What kind of hands?" Dawn asked.

Buffy gave Dawn a funny look, "What?"

"Well were the hands small, large, muscular, boney?" Dawn asked.

"What difference does it make?"

"Because…I don't know! Maybe it can narrow the mystery down a bit." Dawn quipped and shrugged.

Buffy rubbed her forehead, "Dawn please…"

"Alright! Alright!" Dawn held her hands up in surrender.

"Maybe…maybe I imaged it." Buffy said as she looked up.

Spike stopped pacing and turned to Buffy. "No! No, no, no…" Spike said and kneeled down in front of Buffy, "You didn't imagine it and you know it luv."

"Maybe…you said you were feeling a bit off lately." Dawn pointed out.

"Yeah…" Buffy sighed.

"I touched you luv…I touched you for some reason and you can't ignore this!" Spike said and put his hand on her arm but his hand went right through her, "Why can't I do it now?" he mumbled to himself and stared at his own hand.

"I'm going to take a nap…" Buffy said and got up from the couch and passed right through Spike. "Getting almost run over takes a lot out of you." She mumbled.

Dawn and Spike frowned. Spike sighed and turned to Dawn, who was staring down at her lap.

"Dawn?" Spike whispered and waved his hand in front of her face, "Dawn, can you hear me?"

Dawn got up from the couch and passed right through Spike and went into the kitchen.

Spike growled in frustration and got up and walked into Buffy's room wall. The first thing Spike noticed was Buffy standing near her nightstand and looking into her jewelry box. He walked up behind her and found the amulet in her hands. Spike glanced from the amulet to the side of her face.

"Maybe that's why you can sense me…when you got the amulet it made some sort of connection…" he said softly and close to her ear.

Buffy's body trembled a little; this made Spike's eyes widen a little.

"Buffy?" Spike whispered and slowly reached his hand out and tried to place it on her shoulder. At first he didn't succeed but then he concentrated more. He concentrated on Buffy'

Buffy froze when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up in her mirror and saw there was no one behind her. Her heart was racing with the contact of the mysterious presence on her shoulder.

"Who are you?" she whispered while glancing at her shoulder and still feeling the weight that was put on it.

"It's me luv…can you hear me now?" Spike asked.

"Whoever you are…please leave me alone…" she said with a touch of fear in her throat.

"Luv it's me…I'm not going to hurt you...wherever I am I seem to be connected to that amulet…which means I'm connected to you." Spike whispered, "I…I need your help…you're not imaging this…"

"Please…please just go…" Buffy whispered.

Spike stood still for a moment and then took his hand off of her shoulder. He needed a better plan to reach Buffy and tell her it was really him. Spike couldn't just go like Buffy asked, they both needed each other. He couldn't stay a ghost forever.

* * *

The next morning Spike waited for Buffy to wake up and take her morning shower. He walked into the bathroom wall and noticed that the room was filled up with steam. Spike glanced at the mirror in the bathroom and walked towards it…

* * *

Buffy stepped out of the shower stall and grabbed a towel started to dry herself off. She went over to the bathroom sink and started to retrieve water into a cup from the tap. When Buffy looked up and saw writing on her fogged up mirror. She gasped when she saw 'SPIKE' written in the mirror. The plastic cup of water in her hand fell to the floor and spilled water all over the tile. 

**TBC….**


End file.
